This is a phase 3 study to compare the clinical benefit of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone with placebo plus prednisone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who have failed one or two chemotherapy regimens. At least one of the previous chemotherapies must have contained docetaxel.

Overall survival is defined as the time interval from the date of randomization to the date of death from any cause.

Secondary Outcome Measures:

Time to Prostate-Specific Antigen Progression According to Prostate Specific Antigen Working Group Criteria [ Time Frame: Up to 12 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

The time interval from the date of randomization to the date of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression as defined in the protocol-specific Prostate Specific Antigen Working Group (PSAWG) criteria, namely, a PSA level of at least 5 ng/ml that has risen on at least 2 successive occasions, at least 2 weeks apart.

Number of Patients Achieving a Prostate-Specific Antigen Decline >=50% [ Time Frame: Up to 12 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response was defined as a >=50% decline from baseline.

Radiographic progression-free survival is based on imaging studies according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST): baseline lymph node size must be >=2.0 cm to be considered a target lesion; progression on bone scans with >=2 new lesions not consistent with tumor flare, confirmed on a second scan >=6 weeks later that shows >=1 additional new lesion.

Abiraterone acetate is a steroidal irreversible inhibitor of CYP17 (17α hydroxylase/C17, 20-lyase), blocking 2 important enzymatic activities in the synthesis of testosterone. The goal of this study is to compare the clinical benefit of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone with placebo plus prednisone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who have failed one or two chemotherapy regimens, one of which contains docetaxel. All patients involved in the study will be randomized (assigned by chance) into one of two arms and will not know what study drug is being given to them. Study drug randomization allocation will be 2:1 (abiraterone acetate: placebo). The study will be conducted in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the EU. The study will consist of screening, treatment, and follow-up. In this study, patients will receive study treatment (abiraterone acetate or placebo) plus prednisone until progression of clinical disease. Follow-up will continue until patient dies, is lost to follow-up, or withdraws informed consent. After providing written informed consent, patients will have screening procedures completed to determine eligibility. Safety evaluations at the screening procedure will include a physical examination, vital signs, and clinical blood laboratory tests, ECG, radiographs, urine tests, and recording of any adverse events including details of current prostate cancer symptoms. Patients will be asked to use a method of birth control with adequate barrier protection as determined to be acceptable by the principal investigator and sponsor during the study and for 13 weeks after last study drug administration.

Study medication, abiraterone acetate,is an oral (by mouth) medication to be administered as four (4) 250mg abiraterone acetate tablets or 4 placebo tablets to be taken at least one hour before or two hours after a meal anytime up to 10PM everyday. Prednisone will be administered as 5mg orally twice a day for both groups. Each cycle will be 28 days. Study treatment will continue until disease progression as determined by investigator or when the patient meets criteria for withdrawal from study.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and older

Genders Eligible for Study:

Male

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Progression after one or two prior cytotoxic chemotherapies

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00638690